


Mist Ache

by revenblue



Series: [collection] but you keep spinning 'round me just the same (Perryshmirtz) [89]
Category: Phineas and Ferb
Genre: Ambiguous Relationships, Bodyswap, Gen, Heinz has chronic pain, Hurt/Comfort, POV Third Person Omniscient
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:08:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22300840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/revenblue/pseuds/revenblue
Summary: All it took was one mistake.
Relationships: Heinz Doofenshmirtz & Perry the Platypus
Series: [collection] but you keep spinning 'round me just the same (Perryshmirtz) [89]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/746841
Comments: 10
Kudos: 79





	Mist Ache

"Behold!" Heinz Doofenshmirtz proclaimed to his nemesis, as always. Sure, Perry the Platypus always defeated him, _thwarted_ him, but Heinz had a good feeling about this one. "The Body Swap-inator! You remember my brother _Roger_ , right? The Mayor? One blast of _this_ baby and I'll swap places with _him_ , so I'm in _his_ body and he's, uh, here I guess. Then _I'll_ be Mayor and I can finally _take over the Tri-State Area_ with the power of, ah, unrestrained civil authority."

Growling, Perry struggled against the trap. An ordinary rope trap today, made of ordinary rope, ordered in bulk from a supplier. Nothing beat the classics.

Heinz clapped his large hands together, leaning in as close to Perry's face as he dared. This was a fair distance, as Heinz had learned the hard way that Perry, if necessary, could and _would_ bite him. "I bet you're wondering how I came up with this. I _hope_ you are, because I'm not telling. _Evil!_ "

One thing Perry had learned over the course of their nemesisship was that Heinz was desperate for anyone willing to listen to him for any length of time. As a result, whenever the man skipped over something as major as the inspiration for a scheme, it was either mundane or traumatic. He'd come to dread the latter. Anything bad enough that a chronic oversharer held back...

Shaking the thought out of his head, he narrowed his eyes. Whatever inspired this, it was his job to stop it, and stop it he would.

And stop it he did.

Unfortunately, a slight lapse in attention during the inator's construction had made the inevitable self-destruction more explosive than usual, the force sending them both flying.

Coughing, Heinz forced himself up, squinting through the still-settling dust and soot. How odd, he thought. Everything seemed _taller_ than he remembered. It wasn't until he took note of the bright orange bill at the edge of his field of view that he realised what, exactly, had happened. A glance down at the hand about to rub at his eye, or rather the small teal _paw_ , confirmed it.

"I'm _you_ ," he said, staring across the room at where his own body stirred. "Perry the Platypus- I mean I guess I'm a platypus too now- The point is, it backfired and now you're _me_ and I'm _you_ and-"

Perry whined softly, eyes squeezed shut. A wave of pain, stronger than anything he'd felt before in his short life, overwhelmed his every sense until it was all he could do just to breathe. Even with most of his days spent in danger as a secret agent, a hair's breadth from death at all times, he'd never experienced anything like _this_. Surely it had to be his nemesis's doing.

Only the instantly recognisable voice of said nemesis broke him from his stupor. Glancing up, he blinked, taking in his surroundings. Everything seemed so much smaller than it was supposed to be, including his own two foot tall frame, staring back at him with an expression he himself would never dare show.

As the situation fell into place in his mind, he couldn't help but wonder, was this what Heinz felt all the time? This ache throughout his body, the weight of the metal sockets holding his arms in place, the numbness where his tail should be. He'd never imagined his nemesis could have been putting up with so much, every day, without a single sign of it in his actions. Not a grimace or a wince or a complaint.

And Heinz was a man who complained about everything else, from childhood trauma to passing slights, so this lack of mention worried Perry. Did the man truly not notice? What kind of a life would hurt him enough for that?

With a groan, Perry shifted, sitting upright and checking for any new injuries. If his nemesis was hurt and he did nothing...

"Do I really hit that hard?" Heinz mumbled with a wince, twisting around to inspect what he suspected to be a fractured tail. "I know we're _nemeses_ but you could have _told_ me." Hissing through his teeth, he rose to his feet, a task made easier by previous experience as a platypus, albeit his own body in a scheme long over. "What if you had to take the day off? What if someone _else_ came to thwart me instead? What if _no one_ came and I spent the _whole day_ waiting for _you_? What then?"

Snorting, Perry shook his head. Like OWCA would ever let that happen. It was a rare day they allowed time off at all so he'd learned to work through a lot. After all, he couldn't afford to let a minor thing like _serious injury_ stop him from doing his job.

Heinz, swallowing down the hurt and anger Perry's dismissiveness had elicited, continued his monologue. "I get _worried_. Did you ever think about that, huh? I mean, I- I'm _used_ to having you around. Since you, you know, _show up_ every day. Even when you don't _have_ to. Not that I'm _lonely_ , it's just- It's nice to have _company_ for once. Someone to _impress_. I know that sounds weird, you're my _nemesis_ , but-" Stopping just out of arms reach, he pulled a face, not looking up at Perry. "For all I know, _this_ -" He gestured back at his now-destroyed inator with both paws. "-might just be a _job_ to you. _Is_ it, Perry the Platypus?"

A growl slipped out of Perry's borrowed throat as he stretched out a hand. Of course he _cared_. Heinz was more than just another evil scientist; he was Perry's greatest enemy, his _friend_ , the one person he could trust to have his back without question. Even other agents, those he'd trained with, couldn't hope to reach the same understanding he'd found with Heinz, one that ran deeper than words.

It would be that same understanding that served them both now.

Closing his eyes, Heinz took the offered hand, letting himself be pulled in. How long had he spent desperately craving contact like this?

Perry threaded unfamiliar fingers through the all too familiar fur, barely suppressing the sob as the new ache spreading from this slight touch overwhelmed him. That it was possible to be so isolated that nerves could forget what physical contact felt like had never occurred to him, much less that Heinz had reached that point. They fought, didn't they?

But fighting, thwarting, could never be enough. Not when Heinz had never had so much as a hug in all his long years.

Pulling Heinz-in-Perry's-body closer, Perry curled around him, savouring this rare chance to be the one doing the hugging. For his nemesis, and for his own body, all the affection he could never gives as "just" a platypus, he held him tight.

Hardly daring to move, Heinz shook from the contact, the unfamiliar gentle touches he'd been so long deprived of. Wasn't this what he'd wanted all along? To be held, his hair petted, reassured that everything would be alright. To know he was loved and wanted by _someone_. Anyone. After the life he'd had, the abandonment he'd endured, how could he not fall apart for the first person to show him true kindness?

"I didn't know you could _talk_ ," Heinz mumbled into the lab coat, tail draped over his own body's long leg, shivering at every brush of fingers down his spine. "Your _body_ , I mean. It's so _weird_ , I can talk normally like this, but you just... _don't_. Is it an _agent_ thing? The whole _silence_ thing. Because it's _really_ offputting, I never know what you're thinking or if you _care_ or _anything_." Squeezing his eyes shut, he continued in a whisper. "Just... _talk_ to me, Perry the Platypus. I'm sick of _guessing_ what you need, or- or if you want to be here at _all_."

Perry whined, low in his throat, pressing damp eyes into the crook of his nemesis's shoulder. Never before had he realised how much he yearned for this, how much his heart - or was it Heinz's heart? - leapt as he held his nemesis close. Words could never convey how much he needed Heinz. Needed _this_ , the friendship he'd found with his enemy.

Letting out a quiet purr of his own, Heinz squirmed, resting his chin on his nemesis's shoulder. "You're so _tense_ , too. I _get_ that you have a _reputation_ but you should _relax_ sometimes! Let your hair down, or whatever it is _platypuses_ do when they're not, you know, _punching me in the face_ or something. I mean, you have _feelings_ under there, right? You can't be closed off _all_ the time. Or maybe you _can_ and that's why you haven't _left_ yet, I know I'm not exactly pleasant to be around-"

The only response Perry could give that was to cut him off with a growl, shaking his head. No, he had feelings, he just chose not to show them. But he supposed it couldn't hurt to stay, just for a while. Just until it wore off.

* * *

The sun outside had sunk halfway to the horizon by the time either of them stirred, Perry squinting through the afternoon light and instinctively checking his watch. Which wasn't there, thanks to Heinz's inator. Biting back a growl, he took his own wrist, tiny in Heinz's large hands, and checked the time.

Too late, he could already tell. But early enough that his family wouldn't be worrying yet.

The one saving grace when he couldn't even go home, stuck as he was in his nemesis's body. Reluctantly, he prodded Heinz awake.

"What's the rush?" Heinz complained, rolling over with a yawn, then curling back up. "I'm comfortable here, what about you? It has to be better than your _agency_ , that's for sure."

Perry, being rather secretive by nature, hadn't revealed true nature of his living situation to his nemesis. As much as he trusted Heinz in every other way, he couldn't risk letting his nemesis around his family. It would be a security risk, he knew. Not from the man's Evil, for that was carefully calculated so as to inconvenience and nothing more, but from Heinz's inability to keep a secret, of which Perry's double life was one. If his family ever so much as suspected the truth...

And Heinz would, of course, want to meet them. If he knew.

Thus, Perry did what he could to ensure his nemesis remained oblivious. Though it pained him to do so, he'd keep it secret still, let Heinz think what he wanted about where Perry went after. Better for everyone that way. But Heinz, being Heinz, would need an explanation, some reason to believe Perry would return.

That he _would_ return was never in question in his mind, but he knew his nemesis well enough to know Heinz would never believe that. Not after the life he'd had.

Exhaling, he rested a hand on the shoulders he hadn't realised were so tight, scritching at the fur there, a gesture that always helped _him_ relax after a long day of work. Surely his body would remember that, even with Heinz in control.

Heinz, smarter than his schemes would have anyone believe, understood what Perry was trying to convey almost immediately. Or, at least, a warped version of it, twisted by his abysmal self-esteem. "Oh," he said, in a voice barely above a whisper. "You have somewhere _better_ to be, with your _real_ friends, better than-"

Unable to suppress his growl this time, Perry shook his head, clutching his nemesis close. It wasn't that Heinz meant any less to him than anyone else, because he _didn't_. No, he only had so much time in the day, and two families that meant the world to him. Abandoning either was out of the question. He'd made a promise to himself, once, years ago, to be there for his boys to the best of his ability and schedule. Over the summer, he'd done the same for Heinz. For his nemesis.

Backing down, Heinz forced a smile, trying to make himself believe it. Not all of his scars were physical, after all. They littered his mind, mental scars and emotional pain, with only his relentless determination keeping him going in spite of it all. But the careful trust he'd built with his nemesis had to mean _something_.

Perry pointed at the destroyed inator again, one eyebrow raised.

"Fine, I'll _fix_ it," Heinz grumbled, squirming out of his nemesis's grasp and rising to his feet. "But _you're_ helping too. I'm not doing this by myself, you know."

The end result of this being, as Perry had come to expect from his nemesis, that Heinz had "supervised" the entire process. Which mostly amounted to sitting down on a convenient chair and watching Perry work, offering his usual rambling commentary. The only difference was that this time Perry could reach further without having to literally climb inside. And, at last, it was done.

Standing, Heinz leaned against Perry's borrowed leg and wiped his brow. "Phew, I'm beat. How about you?"

Perry glared, the full force of Heinz's eyebrows behind it, then let out an exhausted chirr. It wasn't like Heinz would listen. His nemesis never did. Flicking the switch to warm up the inator, he sat on the floor and pulled Heinz into his lap again to absently stroke his fur, marvelling more at the feeling of Heinz's titanium arms in motion than how he himself must feel to his nemesis.

"Perry the Platypus?" Heinz said, wrapped in the arms he'd built himself, so long ago. "I just want to tell you-"

The inator fired.

This time, the two of them were aware of the swap, a yank in their gut as their very _self_ was wrenched away for a split second. An experience not unfamiliar to the both of them.

Back in his own body, Perry closed his eyes and exhaled. Leaning into his nemesis, he abandoned the physical distance he'd maintained, his reluctance shattered in a single day, a single _moment_ , of intimacy. Heinz needed him, and he needed Heinz, that was all that mattered in this moment. Not just as nemeses, but as friends. There would be time enough to figure out the details later.

Heinz held still, hardly daring breathe in case he'd disturb the platypus curled up in his lap, mind empty of anything else. But even this couldn't last forever. "Weren't you leaving?" he said eventually, reluctantly. "Not that I want you to _go_ , of course, but..."

When it was clear no more words were coming from his usually-talkative nemesis, Perry nodded, face buried in his nemesis's chest. He had to go. As reluctant as he was to leave Heinz, he couldn't stay. Disentangling himself, he glanced up at Heinz, the man whose pain he now understood so much better. The man he called his nemesis. With a quiet chirr, he threw his arms around Heinz's neck in a hug, determined to leave the man with something nice to think about while he was gone.

"I'll miss you too," Heinz whispered, voice thick with emotion, as he brushed his hand down Perry's back. "See you tomorrow? I'm not sure if I'll have a _scheme_ for you after _today's_ excitement, maybe just a, you know, _day off_ , but it'll be fun, right? Right!"

Pulling back, Perry smiled softly and nodded once, paws lingering on Heinz's shoulders. He'd like that.

Heinz took Perry's paws in his hands, giving them a single squeeze before letting go. "Curse you, Perry the Platypus," he murmured, a matching smile on his own face as he did.

With one last tip of his hat, Perry bid his goodbye, and Heinz was left with just the echo of warmth from his nemesis's touch... and the lingering sense he should have a tail. Which, he decided, would make a good scheme for Perry's next visit. Hauling himself to his feet, he set to work.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from [Mist Ache](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnhqGNyQmH0) from Rise of the Triad. [Alternate link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_JZGNm30tU) if you want something more midi-ish. I do encourage listening, it prolly captures the tone of this fic better than the name does XD
> 
> Perryshmirtz server link is, as always, in the series description. Actually shipping it is optional. Even if you don't ship it romantically, or your focus in PNF is elsewhere, you're welcome to join us as long as you're fine with some sort of relationship being the assumption.


End file.
